“What guy?” said a male voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t make me punch you!”

Yifan attempted to go after the tanned man from the photo only to be held back by Zitao. While the tanned man is held back by his brothers.

A quick background on the Kim brothers is that the oldest brother, Minseok, is the owner of a Café. The second brother is Junmyeon, the leader of a gang. The third brother, Jongdae, the club singer at the Café. While the fourth brother, Jongin, is a dance teacher to Bingbing and Jiaojing.

Since they are the mortal enemies of the Lan family. It does make one wonder how did they hire Jongin as the dance teacher to their daughters. Unless…Jongin used his brother’s influence to threaten the Lans.

While Luhan and Mr. Lan tried to stop the fight that is about to happen, Sehun pulled his friends away to a corner to quietly talk.

“It’s that guy.” Sehun said, using his head to gesture towards the Kim brothers.

“What guy?” Yixing asked, a bit confused.

“You didn’t notice?” Baekhyun asked, surprised how Yixing can be a bit blind to some details.

“Remember that photo of Luhan’s,” Chanyeol explained, in a low voice. “The one where they are in high school.”

“Oh,” Yixing said as he stared at the Kim brothers. “You mean that’s him?”

Yixing pointed out to Junmyeon. While he looks the same, the only difference is that he dyed his hair and his skin is a bit paler. Even though Luhan was helping them stop the fight, he forgot about it when he finally laid his eyes on his old friend, Junmyeon.

“It’s been so long…” said Luhan, he looked to be on the verge of tears. “Since we last saw each other.”

As Luhan and Junmyeon hug, Yixing thought Junmyeon has a pair of very familiar eyes.

“I thought I saw someone whose eyes were very familiar.”

In his thoughts, Yixing wondered if that was what Hana wanted to tell Bingbing. If that is true then it must mean, Hana must have met him once. But it also means that Junmyeon was here earlier than his brothers were. Yet they somehow managed to come to the party together.

“Bingbing,” Minseok said as he handed her a bag filled with gifts. “This is from all four of us. We felt a need to spoil our special girl on her engagement party.”

“Thank you.” Bingbing said as she accepted the gifts, with Jongdae’s arms still around her.

Yifan looks on enviously, seeing how close Bingbing is to the Kim brothers.

“Bingbing, how do you know these ruffians?” Mrs. Lan questioned.

All the Kim brothers turn to glare at Mrs. Lan.

“Kyungsoo work at the place they own,” explained Bingbing. “That’s how I met them. Even if you were enemies in the past, there’s no need to call them ruffians. They’re very nice.”

“We can deal with this problem later.” Luhan interrupted. “We are here to solve a maid’s murder, not fight amongst ourselves.”

Luhan decided there needed to be a room check on this floor, so he split the men and women. The women decided to start with Jiaojing’s room as it was nearby. Since Bingbing already checked her room, there was no need to recheck it.

“I can’t believe something terrible happened on my Jiaojing’s birthday,” Mrs. Lan said as she cried. “It was supposed to be very special for her.”

While all the females in the room try to get Mrs. Lan to stop crying, Bingbing is the only one searching through Jiaojing’s room. She knew Mrs. Lan treasures Jiaojing over her so she didn’t think comforting her will help. Did Mrs. Lan forget that it was also Bingbing’s engagement party. As she searched the room, Bingbing saw the gifts that Yifan and Zitao gave Jiaojing, then she remembered.

“Can I trust you to leave my gift to Jiaojing in her room?”

Their last conversation, before she left to talk with Yixing, was about Jiaojing’s gift. Looking at the gifts Jiaojing left in her room, Bingbing didn’t see the one she asked Hana to give to Jiaojing. Did Hana never give the gift to Jiaojing? Or…did Jiaojing hid the gift somewhere?

“No,” Bingbing said, in her mind. “I shouldn’t be thinking that Jiaojing is capable of something like that.”

Jiaojing is like a princess with her personality, many girls believe that if they copy her mannerisms, boys would like them the way Jiaojing is liked by boys. But nice people sometimes have a dark side, Bingbing witnessed it one time when a girl, accidently, bumped into Jiaojing at a party. Jiaojing got angry and brutally kicked the girl, demanding her to pay a lot of money for ruining her dress. Bingbing assumed Jiaojing was drunk and thought the alcohol got to Jiaojing’s brain to the point that she didn’t know what she was doing.

When Bingbing questioned her about it, Jiaojing told her that she won’t drink too much next time they are at a party.

“I’m sorry, big sister,” Jiaojing apologized as she hugged Bingbing. “I won’t cause any more trouble for you.”

As her older sister, Bingbing thought Jiaojing was often healthy the moment she was born. When Jiaojing turned 19 years old, she seemed to have fallen ill. Jiaojing was always nauseous even when Bingbing made some of her favorite foods to try to get her appetite back. It didn’t seem to work so their parents took Jiaojing to Korea to see a doctor about it.

That was one of the only times, Bingbing had the whole mansion to herself, the maids and butlers were there, so she wasn’t alone. At that time, she and Jiaojing were going out with Yifan and Zitao, she spent her time with them while waiting for news of Jiaojing. Although Yifan had to go away at that time so she was mainly with Zitao and Kyungsoo.

Bingbing thought she would get bored and sad, not being able to spend time with Yifan or hearing news about Jiaojing’s health. Kyungsoo had brought her and Zitao to the place where he worked at as a cook. The moment Bingbing stepped into Café Kim, she felt weird about the place despite that it was a place where some gangs hang out…she felt like she was at home.

When Kyungsoo introduced her to the owners of the place, she didn’t expect to see Kim Jongin, her and Jiaojing’s dance teacher. It turns out he is the youngest of the Kim brothers of Café Kim. As Bingbing was introduced to Minseok and Jongdae, she noticed how they love to look out for her especially if someone from a gang tries to flirt with her or hurt her.

That was also when she first met Junmyeon, it was a strange feeling when she met him. She was sure he felt the same way from the way he looked at her. Bingbing, at first, thought that it was love at first sight but it was a weird feeling. What she felt when she is near Junmyeon, it’s a desire for her father to spoil her. She never felt any of that from her parents, Luhan and Hana were the only two around her that she saw as a father and mother.

2 weeks later, Jiaojing and her parents returned. When she tried to ask about Jiaojing’s condition, for some reason her mother just slapped her, telling her, “It’s none of your concern.” Upset, Bingbing ran out into the rain, wandering around in sadness. She always wondered what is it that her parents seem to hate about her that they treat her differently from Jiaojing.

She thought of going to Yifan but he left a message on her phone to not bother him. She wandered around until she bumped into Junmyeon with an umbrella.

“Something told me that you would need this.” Junmyeon said as he pulled her under the umbrella.

“Are you psychic?” Bingbing asked. “How did you know that I was out in the rain?”

“I knew a girl who did the same thing,” Junmyeon said as he led Bingbing to the back door of Café Kim. “Whenever something bad happens to her, it would rain and she would wander around until it stopped.”

The Kim brothers let her stay with them until she wanted to return home. Kyungsoo stay behind to accompany her, he told her to inform Luhan about her whereabouts just in case he might be looking for her. To cheer her up, they had a small party, Kyungsoo called Zitao over as they needed to finish one of their class assignments. The assignment is easy, they need photos of them being natural where they don’t look like they are acting as someone takes their photo.

It happened to be Pepero Day on that rainy day. They played that certain game where friends or couples would be in a position where they look like they are about to kiss as they share a Pepero. Bingbing got paired up with Jongin, who went after his brothers when they almost made him kiss Bingbing. It was a moment to remember since Bingbing never had so much fun before. She was glad that Zitao and Kyungsoo took pictures on that day.

Bingbing snapped out of her memory about that photo. Earlier, she never explained the purpose of the photo to Yifan. But if it comes up again, she has Zitao and Kyungsoo as her witness.

Unsure if she should ask Jiaojing about the gift, Bingbing pondered a bit in her thoughts. Maybe she might not think Bingbing is being mean to her, if she just asks her.

“Jiaojing,” Bingbing began looking at Jiaojing. “When you came up here to change into another dress, did you see the gift I gave you? It was a small box in a dark pink wrapping paper.”

Jiaojing shook her head, “No. I don’t think I saw a gift with that color in my room.”

“Are you sure? I asked Hana to leave it in your room.”

“No, I didn’t see it. All the gifts I got are the ones you’re looking at right now.” Jiaojing said, gesturing to the pile of gifts Bingbing is standing in front of.

“Then…where is it?” Bingbing wondered.

It looks like the gift she wanted to give to Jiaojing mysteriously disappeared. Is it possible Hana had it on her when she was murdered? But if she did have it on her, they would have seen it. Unless when the murderer attacked, Hana must have tried to fight back and as she was defending herself, the gift might have landed on the murderer. If that was the case, they might have to do body checks or check other people’s belongings to see if the gift is there.

“Excuse me,” Yixing said, a bit shyly, as he stood outside the room holding onto the door. “Luhan wants to know if he can borrow Bingbing for a bit.”

Bingbing excused herself, she wondered if Luhan really did ask for her. She couldn’t help but ask when she realized that they haven’t moved from their spot.

“Were you lying?”

“Yeah. Sehun told us Luhan wanted someone to check out Hana’s room.”

“Hana’s room? Why?”

“We found nothing up here, so Luhan believes Hana’s room might provide a clue for us. If that clue exists.”

Bingbing escorted Yixing to the elevator that only leads to the servant’s quarters. Yixing found it weird to see an elevator, he wondered if all rich people have elevators in their homes. The two were quiet in the elevator, Yixing felt the need to hold Bingbing’s hand, she didn’t protest but allowed him to as they felt the elevator slowing down. The servant’s quarters had rooms with doors that had the name of those that worked here. When they found Hana’s room, Bingbing caressed the name plate on the door before letting herself and Yixing in the room, Yixing shut the door in case someone saw them.

Hana’s room looked completely different from her mistress’s room, there was only a bed, a closet, and a desk. Bingbing walked around looking for anything that could link to Hana’s murder. Yixing’s eyes landed on a photo on the desk, it looks to be a young Hana holding hands with a smiling Bingbing who looked to be 6 years old.

“Hey,” Bingbing said, holding an envelope she found in between two books. “I think this looks like a clue.”

“A letter?” Yixing questioned as he stood right next to Bingbing. “You think it’s from the murderer?

“Maybe.” Bingbing unsurely said as she opened the letter.

As Bingbing’s eyes scanned the letter’s content, she let out a gasp and fell to her knees. Yixing held onto her as she fell, asking “What’s wrong? Is the murderer threatening her?”

“N-N-No,” Bingbing said she choked. “It’s a letter from…from my…real mother.”

Yixing gently took the letter from Bingbing’s hand as she began sobbing. It turns out Bingbing is the daughter of Lan Mudan, the sister of Mrs. Lan, and surprisingly her father is…Kim…Junmyeon. That explains why they have similar eyes, if Hana had this letter, it means she knew about it. She might have been Mudan’s maid and met Junmyeon which explains why she recognize him at the party.

Yixing held onto Bingbing by her shoulders as he read the letter. There were some parts that caught his interest.

“No matter what they said about Junmyeon, I don’t care, I only wanted him. Luhan is the only one who supported us, he even found a way for us to get married secretly.”

“I know Luhan didn’t tell my parents about the wedding. But who did? Is it my sister? She’s always been jealous of me even when I was good to her. How can she repay my kindness with betrayal?”

“I hope that one day you will know the truth, my love. I’m sorry I let Luhan take you away from your father. I needed to protect Junmyeon from my family.”

“They wanted to kill him. I need to do something, I can’t let the love of my life die. If they want to kill him so badly, then I will sacrifice myself, so that even in death I will protect you both.”

“So now you know the truth.” A voice said.

Yixing and Bingbing didn’t expect to be surprised like that. They were so immersed in the letter they didn’t hear or see that Junmyeon followed them.

“D-D-Did you always knew?” Bingbing asked. “When we first met, did you know I was your daughter?”

“That time in the rain was how I knew.”

Bingbing let out a cry as she got out of Yixing’s arms and run into her father’s arms as he hugged her. Yixing felt tears threatening to fall from his eyes, he turned away to give the two a moment to themselves. Under the bed, Yixing spot a paper that had Jiaojing’s name on it and the words “Seoul Maternity Ward”. Reading that word, he thought back to that rumor about Yifan at a maternity ward.

“Bingbing.” Yixing said with a smile on his face. “I think I know who the murderers are.”

The three took the elevator to get back to the second floor. Bingbing’s eyes were almost emotionless, the truth of the case is cruel to a kind girl like her. Junmyeon held Bingbing to his chest while patting her head. In Bingbing’s hand was a bag, it looks like a cloth of some kind was in it and on top of it…was the gift she gave Jiaojing.

As they returned to the second floor, the first sounds they heard is Mrs. Lan screeching again about the Kim brothers. Luhan had to play peacemaker again, which will probably be the last time he does that tonight. Chanyeol quickly spotted them.

“You found any proofs?” Chanyeol asked a bit too loudly, leading Baekhyun to smack his head.

“We have proof.” Yixing said.

Bingbing pointed at Jiaojing. “The proofs we found points to you, Jiaojing. You killed Hana because she found your dirty secrets and you got scared thinking that I will find out about it.”

“Bingbing!” Yifan yelled. “How can you accuse your sister of murder?”

Yifan looked angry at Bingbing, he was just as angry as he was about that photo of her and Jongin. Just like “her parents”, Bingbing now knew that she will never have a place in Yifan’s heart.

“If you didn’t want to marry me, why didn’t you just refuse? Instead you lead me on. Now that I know the truth I hope you two are happy together.” Bingbing said bitterly.

Yifan and Jiaojing are speechless at Bingbing’s words, they’ve been with each other ever since they met at a club. It was on Jeju Island they continued having an affair until they learn about their parent’s plans for an arranged marriage. That time when Jiaojing got sick, it was because she got pregnant by Yifan. When she told her parents, they were upset as they feared other people and Bingbing would find out about it. For some reason Jiaojing had aborted the child, when Yifan head to Seoul to that maternity ward, he was heartbroken at what Jiaojing did.

Jiaojing feared Bingbing’s reaction if she ever found out, so she wanted to get rid of the only evidence of her love for Yifan. She truly does have a dark side, she cared what society thinks of her if she was pregnant before marriage.

“We are in love, Bingbing,” Jiaojing said as she held Yifan’s hand in hers. “Is it wrong to want to be with the person you love?”

Everyone gasped at Jiaojing’s confession. She had an affair with the man her sister is engaged to. While their story is tragic and romantic, but it is still an affair.

“You expect me to give you my blessing.” Bingbing said as she walked up to the pair. “If you didn’t kill my maid, I would have let you both off. To top it off, you both made people think I had an affair…when you were the ones that slept together.”

Bingbing was beyond angry, “Did you think your murder was really clever? It wasn’t as perfect as you thought it was. I found some evidence that you forgot to get rid of.”

8/26/17

Like chapter 2, this also contained some big changes. There were some parts I chose to keep from my old post. I realized I never included how Xiao Ai and the Lan parents look so I'll include who I imagine as them. 

Zhao Liying 

Jin Dong and Wang Ou from the Disguiser (they play as lovers in there)